Daylight Robbery!

Mainly overcast with light showers. A very light variable breeze.

South shore (Malcolm) 08:20 - 10:30

A walk along the foreshore then along the sea wall.

Wheatear 1 juvenile near the slipway on the foreshore. 

Juvenile Wheatear, still with some juvenile plumage, but looking a 
bit more like a first winter bird now

Rock Pipit 3 - 2 together on the foreshore as I walked out, 2 together on Red Nab as I returned, probably the same birds. 1 near the lighthouse 

Two Rock Pipits on the foreshore 

Little Egret 4

Whimbrel 2

Whimbrel 

Common Tern 2 adult on No.1 outfall. Not feeding at the same time, but one had a much more pronounced wing wedge. 

This is the one with the lighter wing markings 

It was feeding first.

Later this one with the darker wedge on the wing arrived from the south

Mediterranean gull 12 - 10 adults and 2 juveniles arrived at the feeding beach by the wooden jetty as it was exposed.

Adult Mediterranean gull on the sea above where it was planning to feed

The gulls only seem to be able to catch the Sandmason worms at certain times (I assume when the worms have to protrude from their tubes to breed). Today wasn't one of those days, so the Mediterranean gulls resorted to robbing the Oystercatchers, quite successfully! (Although the worms the Oystercatchers were catching looked more like Lugworm)

Meanwhile, the juveniles sought titbits at the waterline.

Not always amicably

Immature Cormorants 

Peregrine Falcon 1 above the Power Stations 

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 14:15 -  15:30

I walked the tide in again, quite a pleasant walk, but unfortunately accompanied by light rain.

An unfamiliar calling and a raptor like bird flying around the skear had me stumped, but somehow my grainy shots taken through the rain were identified as a parakeet species and listening to call recordings confirmed it to be a

Ringed-necked Parakeet 

This comment from Angela Gillon - a squawking bird flew over my house at about 17:30 today, I couldn't see it but is sounded very Parakeet like

Eider at least 5 female/well grown immature plus a raft of smaller juveniles. Two of the larger birds were shepherding them. They stopped off for a rest on a sand bar.

Red-breasted Merganser 5

Red-breasted Merganser 

Great Created Grebe 5

Two pairs and a single Great Crested grebe were swimming out as
the tide moved the gulls in

Little Egret 4

Gulls c150 mainly Herring, but also Lesser Black-Backed, Black-Headed and a Mediterranean 

Looks to be the same adult Mediterranean gull as seen here last time.
It has a small invertebrate

Waders:

Oystercatcher 600

Curlew 60

Whimbrel 2

Redshank 35

Turnstone 9  

Heysham Nature Reserve (Kevin)

I had a wander around Heysham Nature Reserve this afternoon and saw the white moths. One of them was dead on the surface of the water and I could see it well enough to confirm that the moths are Small China-mark (see yesterday's post)

Also a very confiding baby rabbit that hasn't yet learnt that humans are
potentially dangerous!

You learn something new......occasionally

A dry day after a mid morning shower. The sun came out this afternoon. A light variable breeze.

South shore (Malcolm) 09:00 - 10:30

I managed a dry walk out but got a soaking coming back.

Skylark 1 juvenile on the foreshore 

Juvenile Skylark 

Wheatear 1 juvenile near the slipway

Linnet 2 on Red Nab

Rock Pipit 2 on Red Nab

Whimbrel 3 - 1 near No.2 outfall plus two out together 

Whimbrel and juvenile Black-Headed Gull

Curlew, also by No.2 outfall

Common Tern 2 adult at the seaward end of No.1 outfall

Mediterranean gull 6 - 4 adult and 2  x 2nd calendar year. Initially there was just one adult on the feeding beach, but after checking the harbour the number had grown to six, unfortunately the rain started so it was time to head home

I returned this afternoon to watch the tide cover Red Nab. There was just the same combination of six Mediterranean gulls, but everything was very flighty. I didn't see any raptors, sometimes just the clumsy juvenile large gulls flying around can trigger them to lift.

Three adults and a second calendar year Mediterranean gull

And then they were gone!

Most ended up out from the saltmarsh 

Middleton Nature Reserve (Pete)

One male red veined darter over the water as the sun started to materialise - took 15 mins to appear 

Heysham Nature Reserve (Malcolm) 16:30 - 17:30

Chiffchaff singing and calling

Blackcap singing

Kestrel over

Jay 1

Swift 2 south

 

Common Darter 2 males

Male Common Darter

Brown Hawker I

Large White 1

Green-Veined White 3

Meadow Browns all over the meadow!

Gatekeeper 30+

Common Blue 30+

Red Admiral 1

Peacock 1 

Speckled Wood 3

Small Skipper 1

Small Skipper

Meadow Brown

Peacock

This is another juvenile that hasn't got the instinct to be fearful of humans. It didn't even move much when I passed it!

Well, I've learned something new today (Malcolm). I had no idea that some moths have an aquatic or partially aquatic life cycle. There were five of these tiny moths (likely Small China Mark) laying their eggs in the water. This clip is from the wooden walkway that goes out into the water.

Seven wader species

It somehow managed to stay dry, despite threatening rain all day. Mainly overcast with a light east breeze early on, then shifting to SE then SW

These shots are by David Talbot yesterday.

Male Red-Veined Darter on the east bank of the main pond
Middleton Nature Reserve 

Rudd in the dipping pond
Heysham Nature Reserve 

South shore (Malcolm) 08:00 - 09:30

Wheatear 1 (looks to be same long staying) juvenile on the foreshore 

Rock Pipit 3 - one each, foreshore, Red Nad and lighthouse 

Foreshore Rock Pipit

Mediterranean gull just one adult seen (I suspect that the Osprey was there before me and flushed them)

You can tell it's a quiet day when I photograph Starlings! Quite a handsome 
bird though, already in winter plumage. It was alone on the wooden jetty, but
it won't be alone for long

In the Nature Park

Female/immature Blackcap

It was eating the early ripening blackberries 

Meadow Brown 10

Gatekeeper 5

Common Blue 5

Peacock 3

Red Admiral 5

Large White 3

Small White 1

Speckled Wood 3

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Gatekeeper 

Small Tortoiseshell 

Peacock

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 12:30 - 14:00

I walked the rising tide in.

Eider 3 females overseeing a raft of 21 youngsters 

They brought them close to the skear edge to feed in the shallow water.

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Red-breasted Merganser female/immature.
A group of 3 and this individual flew north, 2 remained feeding, all female or immature 

Great Crested Grebe 8 at least, they were pretty much everywhere you looked.

Little Egret 7

Gulls c200 mainly resting. Most were Herring gulls, including this regularly seen ringed bird. It is the only one of the ringed birds seen here that I could call regular.

Ringed as a chick last July at Bowland, this is its 10th record on 
the skear since first seen on 7th May

There were a few Lesser Black-Backed gulls, 16 Black-Headed and Mediterranean gull

Adult Mediterranean gull

Common Tern 1 flew over, north to south 

Common Tern

Waders:

Oystercatcher - many more since my last visit at least 800, possibly 1,000

Curlew 80

Whimbrel 1 heard only

Bar-Tailed Godwit 3 feeding along the waterline to the south of the skear.

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Redshank 65

Turnstone 4

Some of the Redshank being led by a Turnstone

Ringed Plover 4

Four Ringed Plover

Double figures for RVD

What a difference to yesterday! Warm, dry and sunny with a light NW to west breeze.

South Shore

Shaun Coyle 06:00 - 09:30

Common Tern 1 adult on No.2 outfall first thing

Little Gull 1 2nd calendar year alternating between feeding on No.1 outfall and resting on the mud with Black-Headed gulls.

Mediterranean gulls 19 - 8 adult, 3 3rd calendar year, 2 2nd calendar year and 6 juveniles (1st calendar year)

Osprey 1 fishing between the outfalls.

Still plenty of butterflies in the scrub near the lighthouse:

Small White 7

Common Blue 75

Meadow Brown 11

Red Admiral 3

Gatekeeper 3

Small Tortoiseshell 2

Shaun was still there when I arrived (Malcolm).

The Osprey had just caught a Bass and headed off to the north
Unfortunately, it had spooked most of the Meds and just a few remained

Juvenile Wheatear on foreshore 

One of two Linnet on foreshore 

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

I returned later to watch the tide reach Red Nab, fortunately no disturbance today, but there were only 12 Mediterranean gulls including 4 juvenile.

Just the one adult Med here (bottom right), but this shot is really to
show the high number of feathers being shed

Not even the Curlew were spooked today, there were 100+ on Red Nab

One of the juvenile Mediterranean gulls

I was hoping to read any ringed birds, but most were either sat down,
or partially hidden 

One adult Mediterranean gull did reveal itself to be ringed, but it is one
that has already seen here this summer. A Dutch bird ringed 2019

In the Nature Park:

Meadow Brown 6

Red Admiral 6

Large White 4

Small White 8

Comma 1

Common Blue 6

Gatekeeper 2

Speckled Wood 1

Male (left) and female Large White

Two Red Admirals 

Middleton Nature Reserve - main pond (Shaun and Malcolm) 09:45 - 10:20

We did a full circuit of the pond.

Red-Veined Darter 10 probably 12 males. There were up to 12 red darters over the water chasing each other. 10 were confirmed as RVD, the other 2 almost certainly were. There were several male Common Darters over the water too, but they were generally closer to the banking, and any that did go to the middle were easily distinguished from the RVD.

Male Red Veined Darter - this was the only one we saw settled
on the western bank.

David Talbot checked mid afternoon, by that time territories must have been won and lost, and presumably some moved on. David didn't see any over the water, but managed four sightings of at least two males along the steep sided eastern bank

Also:

Common Darter 10+

Black-Tailed Skimmer 8 

Emperor 3